KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Playing on the road for the first time this season, the 13th-ranked Blue Devils fell short in a rally bid at No. 14 Tennessee, falling by a 4-2 score.

Duke (4-3) faced an uphill battle after surrendering the doubles point to the Volunteers (8-1). Sophomore Michael Redlicki and junior Jason Tahir dropped a 6-3 decision to the nation’s top-ranked doubles pair of Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Resse on court one. In the No. 2 contest, the duo of senior Fred Saba and sophomore Bruno Semenzato fell to No. 28 Brandon Fickey and Jarryd Chaplin of Tennessee, 6-4.

Sophomore Daniel McCall and junior Raphael Hemmeler were trailing the Volunteers’ tandem of Markus Kerner and Andrew Dromsky on court three when play was suspended.

After the two teams split first sets in singles, Redlicki, the 29th-ranked player in the country, evened up at the match score at 1-1 with a solid 6-1, 6-2 defeat of No. 34 Libietis on court one. With the win, the Duke sophomore moved to 10-5 on the season.

Fifty-second ranked Tahir followed suit with a 6-2, 6-2 decision against Tennessee’s Brandon Fickey, improving to 3-0 at the No. 3 spot in the lineup. However, the Volunteers responded with a win on court six, where 77th-ranked Josh Levine fell to Kerner, 6-3, 6-4, for just his second loss in dual match singles play.

Hemmeler suffered a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 setback to Tennessee’s Dromsky on court five to bring the match decision down to courts two and four. In the No. 4 contest, 95th-ranked Semenzato battled back from a first-set loss to take the second set against Chaplin, 6-4. Despite the momentum shift, Chaplin broke Semenzato’s serve late in the third set to clinch the match.

Saba was leading No. 16 Reese in a decisive set on court two when the match was abandoned.

The Blue Devils continue a tough road swing Sunday, Feb. 9, traveling to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face the 31st-ranked Wolverines at 12 p.m. Live video and live scoring will be available at mgoblue.com.